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Mammoth Lakes, CA

For once, the hyperbole actually applies. A summit elevation of 11,053 feet and a hefty 3,100-foot vertical drop are just some Mammoth stats that don't need any embroidering by Bay Area marketing whiz kids. The mountain is served by 28 lifts numbered in the order they were built, giving a nod to ...

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South Lake Tahoe, CA, CA

Heavenly is unique in that it sprawls across state boundaries. Part of the ski area is in California and part is in Nevada, and for my money, the Nevada part is the better part. The fall line is more sustained, meaning that runs tend to be longer.

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Park City, UT

Appearances can deceivefrom the parking lot of Park City Mountain Resort, the main allure appears to be the massive half pipe, which dwarfs the surrounding mountain, a lazy-looking stretch of rolling hills interlaced with lifts. Don't be fooled, however. Hop on the King Con high-speed quad ...

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Olympic Valley, CA

Squaw is the American birthplace of extreme skiing. About 25 ago, Squaw locals began skiing impossible lines from the Palisades, essentially a cliff with snow stuck to it. In the early 1980s, Scot Schmidt, arguably the father of extreme skiing, arrived in Squaw to pull 100-foot cliff ...